Ellington

On March 21, 2005 LAURA TRESSA ELLINGTON loving daughter of Evelyn Annie Loney (nee Ensley) and the late Charles Louis Loney; devoted mother of Columbus P. Ellington (Milmarie), Elizabeth Ellington-Wade (Edward) and Laura O. Grimes (Salvador); adored grandmother of Britney Grimes, Alexandra P. Ellington, Conor P. Ellington, Hunter C. Ellington and Joseph "Max" Wade; loving sister of Rosemary Fabian, Charles Loney "Bucky", Edmond Loney, Katherine Lewis and James Loney. Friends may call at the LOUDON PARK FUNERAL HOME, 3620 Wilkens Ave., Baltimore on Saturday at 12 p.m. Interment Loudon Park Cemetery.

Hot night, New York: a little breeze in the trees in the deep stone canyons as I look out my window, thousands of little lighted windows of private lives, one of which is mine. I'm reminded of this by the fact that a hundred feet away, a man stands at a window looking through binoculars that seem to be trained precisely on me, and though he surely would prefer looking at someone more exciting than a tall bespectacled man in black T-shirt and jeans, a man who is not jumping around playing air guitar or fastening his hair to his head with strips of tape or unzipping the dress of a beautiful woman, nonetheless he is focused on me, and I don't leap back from the window in horror - I feel (slightly)

On December 7, 2007, MARIAN M. ELLINGTON-CANAVAN of Pasadena. Loving wife to Andy Canavan for 9 years; caring mother to Marie Lloyd and Amy Ellington; devoted grandmother to Maggie, Casey, Aislen and Kian. The family will receive visitors at the family owned Singleton Funeral and Cremation Services, 1 2nd Ave. SW (at Crain Hwy.) Glen Burnie, on Monday, December 10th from 3-5 and 7-9PM. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society1041 Rt. 3 North, Bldg.

In his recent book, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, Alex Ross, music critic for the New Yorker, notes these strong words from Duke Ellington: "To attempt to elevate the status of the jazz musician by forcing the level of his best work into comparisons with classical music is to deny him his rightful share of originality." Despite Ellington's reservations about such comparisons, the legendary composer and bandleader was among those leading the way in exploring the nexus of the two genres.

On January 14, 2008 FLORENCE BETTY SIMMONS. Friends may visit at the Gary P. March Funeral Home, 270 Fred Hilton Pass on Friday 3 to 7 P.M. Mrs. Ellington will lie in state at The Morgan State University Christian Center, 4307 Hillen Road, Saturday 2 p.m. Homegoing Celebration at 3 p.m. Further services and interment in Greensboro, NC on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Ministry of Comfort by Gary P. March Funeral Home.

Louis Armstrong came to public view as an entertainer, Dizzy Gillespie for his beret and clownish charm, Miles Davis for his immaculately cut shirts and defiant cool.But Duke Ellington was the first, and remains, almost 100 years after jazz's birth, perhaps the only jazz musician to become famous for being an artist. Due to his status, as well as the length of his mature career -- from his debut at Harlem's Cotton Club in 1927 to his death in 1974 -- Ellington inspired an enormous body of writing that is both scholarly and hostile, defensive and elegiac.

This lively biography, through emphasizing the king-sized contributions of its subject to American popular music, provides a perspective that should interest a general readership and not mostly jazz enthusiasts.John Edward Hasse, in his stated intent to stress "the development and evolution of Ellington the musician" and to delineate the two inseparable careers of band leader and composer, has done exactly that.His theme, supported by extensive research and Ellington quotations, is expanded so judiciously that the 404-page volume seems fittingly concise.

Jo Barker, president of the Performing Arts Association of Linthicum, has good news this 18th season. For the first time, PAAL has more than 700 subscribers, and if that isn't cause enough for celebrating, writer-broadcaster John Tegler again played host for the season opener, attracting a number of his radio fans to the concert.Well known as a jazz authority -- he has a show on WEAA-FM 88.9 -- Tegler has a reputation for showcasing accomplished musicians in his re-creations of musical legends.

If jazz is America's classical music, why aren't there more groups like the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra?Clearly, if one accepts the idea that jazz has more than its share of great composers, then the need for a jazz repertory company seems obvious. How can the work of a genius like Duke Ellington be treasured if his compositions and arrangements are no longer being played?But as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra made plain during its performance at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Tuesday, hearing another jazz band play Ellington is not the same thing as hearing the Ellington Band itself.

Ruth Ellington Boatwright, 88, the younger sister of big band musician Duke Ellington, died March 6 in New York after a long illness. In 1941, when Mr. Ellington formed Tempo Music, a company that owns most of his compositions, he made Mrs. Boatwright president. During the 1950s, Mrs. Boatwright served as host of a radio program on New York station WLIB. She was also founder of the jazz ministry of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan. When Mr. Ellington died in 1974, she oversaw his copyrights, contracts and business matters.

On January 14, 2008 FLORENCE BETTY SIMMONS. Friends may visit at the Gary P. March Funeral Home, 270 Fred Hilton Pass on Friday 3 to 7 P.M. Mrs. Ellington will lie in state at The Morgan State University Christian Center, 4307 Hillen Road, Saturday 2 p.m. Homegoing Celebration at 3 p.m. Further services and interment in Greensboro, NC on Tuesday, January 22, 2008. Ministry of Comfort by Gary P. March Funeral Home.

On December 7, 2007, MARIAN M. ELLINGTON-CANAVAN of Pasadena. Loving wife to Andy Canavan for 9 years; caring mother to Marie Lloyd and Amy Ellington; devoted grandmother to Maggie, Casey, Aislen and Kian. The family will receive visitors at the family owned Singleton Funeral and Cremation Services, 1 2nd Ave. SW (at Crain Hwy.) Glen Burnie, on Monday, December 10th from 3-5 and 7-9PM. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society1041 Rt. 3 North, Bldg.

TERESA BREWER, 76 Singer had hits in 1950s Singer Teresa Brewer, who topped the charts in the 1950s with such hits as "Till I Waltz Again with You" and performed with jazz legends Count Basie and Duke Ellington, died Wednesday. She was 76. She died at her home in New Rochelle of a neuromuscular disease, said family spokesman Bill Munroe. Ms. Brewer had scores of hits in the 1950s and a burgeoning film career but pared down her public life to raise her children. She re-emerged a decade later to perform with jazz greats Mr. Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis.

On March 26, 2006, NAOMI T. ELLINGTONFriends may call at the MARCHFUNERAL HOME WEST, INC., 4300 Wabash Avenue on Friday after 8:30 A.M. where family will receive friends on Saturday 9:00 A.M. followed by funeral services at 9:30 A.M.

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 19th-annual tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was unlike any of the others. Sitting side-by-side with BSO players Wednesday night at Meyerhoff Symphony Hall were lots of black musicians. That constituted quite a tribute to King in itself. Joining the BSO was the Soulful Symphony, the remarkable ensemble founded and conducted by Darin Atwater and now affiliated with the orchestra. A packed house turned out for the occasion - all events involving the Soulful Symphony this season have had the box office hopping happily - and was rewarded with a secular and religious mix of programming.

Ruth Ellington Boatwright, 88, the younger sister of big band musician Duke Ellington, died March 6 in New York after a long illness. In 1941, when Mr. Ellington formed Tempo Music, a company that owns most of his compositions, he made Mrs. Boatwright president. During the 1950s, Mrs. Boatwright served as host of a radio program on New York station WLIB. She was also founder of the jazz ministry of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan. When Mr. Ellington died in 1974, she oversaw his copyrights, contracts and business matters.

WASHINGTON -- More than100 years after his birth, we are still coming to appreciate the enormity of Duke Ellington in both his contributions to the cause of civil rights and to American culture. Organized marching, protests and other confrontations did not represent the only ways blacks struggled against discrimination, though they are the methods of resistance on which historians have concentrated the most. Ellington's efforts in this area showed that those who were quiet on political issues could push the boundaries of racism and black participation at the higher reaches of society and culture.

LONDON -- American-born jazz singer Adelaide Hall, who shared the stage with Duke Ellington and other jazz stars, died in London yesterday at the age of 92, a hospital spokesman said.Born in New York, she was the daughter of a music professor and first performed on stage at 14. Her credits include appearing in the London stage premiere of "Kiss me Kate" as well as Ellington's "Chocolate Kiddies" with Josephine Baker.

When conductor Jason Love comes onstage wearing a brown cowboy hat, and concertmistress Brenda Anna dons Princess Leia braids during intermission, you can bet it's not just another night at the symphony. Indeed, Saturday night at Jim Rouse Theatre proved a delightfully different musical affair as the Columbia Orchestra concluded its 25th anniversary season with a "Symphonic Pops" program of selections by Richard Rodgers, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, George Gershwin and film composer par excellence, John Williams.